1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



151 



llil braches of common eiluealion nrc taiiyiht by 

 schoolmasters appointed by the rector ol" the pa- 

 rishes : tliese schools deserve, and do receive 

 every support from all classes of society here, and 

 are indeed a blessinj^ to tlie country. The many 

 thrivin<j and wealthy merchants and tradesmen 

 of res|)ectability, natives of this district; now set- 

 tled in London and elsewhere, fully prove the 

 •rood ellects of educatinir the lower orders, and 

 the example of the good character and the enter- 

 terprisc of" the young who leave the district, acts 

 as a spur to push on those left, at home to emula- 

 tion and good conduct. 



Means of improving the condition of the pea- 

 santry. — Ploughmen cannot be employed by the 

 piece,* but a great portion of agricultural labor 

 may be so done. It has long been the practice 

 on this farm to let every thing possible by the 

 piece, as a matter of justice and propriety, both 

 to the employer and his laborers. This is a most 

 encouraging plan to the industrious peasant, who 

 thus secures the lair return for his labor. Jobs 

 are always let by estimate, but the competition, 

 though fair, is never so very keen as to reduce the 

 prices given too low. 



Medical aid. — The family surgeon attends the 

 whole permanent servants of the establishment 

 in cases of bad health, and he receives a regular 

 allowance lor his services. 



Gardens. — All the permanent servants have 

 small gardens, well kept. These patches are a 

 source of great comfort to the possessor, and a ra- 

 tional amusement at his leisure hours. A few of 

 the ploughmen are allowed to keep a cow each, 

 on paying a very moderate rent for the pasture 

 through summer. 



Separate dwellings. — The dwellings of the la- 

 borer ousxht undoubtedly to be separate from each 

 other. This, however, unluckily, is not the case 

 here, for all the permanent servants live under one 

 roof in a large three-story building erected many 

 years ago, near the farm-yard. These people are 

 all respectable in their way, but huddled together 

 as they are, it is not possible to prevent little quar- 

 rels and bickerings from breaking out occasionally, 

 where people with families (although each has 

 two separate rooms,) are so congregated. It is 

 in contemplation to remedy this mistake, by erect- 

 ing separate cottages for the servants. 



Residence of the proprietors. — In this district 

 one great proprietor owns the whole, whose resi- 

 dence is constant. 



Marriage. — There can be no reason why the 

 laborer should not marry, except that they are too 

 ready to enter into that state when very young, 

 and before they have saved a little money to be- 

 gin the world with; though as yet, the excess of 

 the agricultural population is not felt as a serious 

 burden in this district, for the country is making 

 rapid strides in improvement, and all good hands 

 find at present ready employment. 



Believing that details of real practice are of 

 more use to the cause of rural improvement than 

 theoretical opinions, unsupported by the test of 

 experience, the reporter has confined his obser- 

 vations, as closely as possible, to giving an accu- 

 rate account of the management of a gentleman's 

 park and farm on a large scale; and he has only 



further to say, that the profits or returns have been 

 always fair, and such as completely to warrants 

 communication of the systems pursued. 

 (ilinger Jiank, Longtown, 

 19 Ih July, 1830. 



*But for tliat reason are paid at. a liigher rate of 

 wages than the ordinary day-laboier. 



For tlie Furmcrs' Register. 

 THE MORALS OP MANURING. 



Bad health is a good excuse for most of the 

 negligences of man; and it is with grief that 1 

 ofi'er you this for not communicating with you 

 more fi-eely. Little now remains to me in life 

 more dear than to give my young friends the bene- 

 fit of ray experience, and show them how to make 

 themselves prosperous, abundant, and happy. 

 Holding, as I do, that the moral power of every 

 community depends upon the facility of man's ob- 

 taining subsistence, I assume as undeniable, that 

 he who teaches how ten grains of corn and as 

 many blades of grass can be grown where now 

 but one can be shown, in that very proportion in- 

 creases the moral power of society. In plain dis- 

 robed English, I hold that our duty to Mother 

 Earth is the basis of moral law and moral duty; 

 and disguise it as you may, the facts which sus- 

 tain me are abroad and 'Hrumpet-tongued." Ne- 

 glect of this duty has created the necessity of 

 legislating society to death, or into deep disease; 

 but this is mere quackery. Loco-fbcoism is mark- 

 ing and banding its party, and in the fulness of 

 time it will produce the madness of battle, and, 

 like that of the cats of Kilkenny, nothing but the 

 tails of the combatants will be left. Man is 

 strictly and purely selfish; and he is nothing loath 

 to seek his self gratifications at every hazard 

 deemed compatible with his safety, or his probable 

 safely; else why your court-houses, jails, whip- 

 ping-posts and penitentiaries'? not forgetting that 

 summary contrivance with which Haman was 

 wont to remove Mordecai from the king's gate? 

 Disguise it as you may, neglect of duty to dear 

 old Mother Earth, to "till and'dress her" faithfully, 

 has hatched and now feeds those necessary Vam- 

 pyres. Nor is this all. Look back upon the 

 whole history of man, and hatred of labor and 

 self-gratification are his ruling passions. He has 

 not always been cannibal; biTt let self-gratification 

 make it necessary, and he has been ever found 

 ready to take the blood of his fellow, or m.ake him 

 his servant. If, in the beginninff, Moses had 

 taught that to "till the earth^and dress it" was a 

 paramount duty, divers other commandments 

 would never have been broken. True it is that he 

 did say "whosoever sheddeth man's blood, of him 

 shall blood be required;" and yet we learn that 

 more than ten times the number now living have 

 been slain for the gratification of the selfish pur- 

 poses of others. If it be the duty of man to till 

 the earth and dress it, and we show him how 

 much self gratification he will have in the result, 

 surely, though we preach of the resurrection of 

 dead land, we may be heard; for this is the great 

 panacea of church and state. First let the land 

 be made perfectly dry, and lay upon it 50 or 100 

 bushels of shell or stone lime to the acre, let it lay 

 three months if possible before you plough it for 

 corn, (a shorter time will do,) then harrow down 

 well to close the cracks, and plant in checks or 



